It’s a long way to Christmas, but with a nod to that beloved holiday ballad, it’s beginning to look a lot like a soft landing. Bing Crosby is no longer with us, but Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, may soon be singing the praises for the way the economy is performing. True, some parts are still coming in too hot, and inflation remains too high for the Fed to begin cutting rates right now. To no one’s surprise, it kept the target range on its federal funds rate at the current 5.25%-5.50% at the latest policy meeting in mid-June. But it also changed its forward guidance, expecting to reduce rates fewer times this year than it did back in March – one instead of three. Simply put, policy makers still believe the risk of easing up on the monetary brakes too soon outweighs the risk of waiting too long. The central bank’s decision to keep rates higher for longer comes on the heels of softer than expected inflation reports and signs that the labor market is cooling – but not breaking. From the lens of investors, this combination indicates that conditions are ripe for an earlier rate cut than the Fed is signaling. Hence, the markets are pricing in a greater than 60 percent chance that the Fed will cut rates three times before the end of the year, putting a move as soon as July in play. It is not uncommon for the markets and the Fed to have different opinions on where rates should go. In fact, such differences surfaced in each of the last three quarterly projections made by the Fed – in December, March and now, June.